---
name: flow-next-impl-review
description: Carmack-level implementation review of changes via the configured backend. Use when asked to review code or a diff in a flow-next repo.
user-invocable: false
---

# Implementation review

You coordinate; the configured backend reviews. Never author a verdict yourself, and use one
backend for the whole review. Read [working-rules.md](../../references/working-rules.md) first:
its Review section decides which findings you fix.

Arguments: `[task id] [--base <commit>] [--review=<backend>] [--deep[=passes]]
[--validate] [--interactive] [--no-triage] [focus areas]`. Without `--base` the whole branch is
reviewed against main. A spec or branch review passes no id.

## 1. Setup

One Bash call; fill the three literals from the arguments.

```bash
set -e
FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"
REVIEW_ID="<task id, or empty for a spec or branch review>"
BACKEND="<value of --review, or empty>"
DIFF_BASE="<value of --base, or empty>"
[ -n "$BACKEND" ] || BACKEND=$("$FLOWCTL" review-backend "$REVIEW_ID")
[ -n "$DIFF_BASE" ] || { DIFF_BASE=main; git rev-parse -q --verify main >/dev/null || DIFF_BASE=master; }
echo "FLOWCTL=$FLOWCTL BACKEND=$BACKEND DIFF_BASE=$DIFF_BASE"
git diff --shortstat "$DIFF_BASE"...HEAD
```

- `ASK`: stop; no backend is configured (`/flow-next:setup`, or pass `--review=<backend>`).
- `none`: no review; say so.
- `rp` or `export`: removed; tell the user in one line "RepoPrompt review (rp, export) was removed
  in flow-next 8.0.0; review backends: claude, codex, copilot, cursor, host." and stop as for `ASK`.
- `host`, any of `--deep`, `--validate`, `--interactive`, `--no-triage`,
  `FLOW_VALIDATE_REVIEW=1` or `FLOW_REVIEW_DEEP=1` in the environment, or an instruction about
  the reviewers ("one reviewer", "three model families"): read [other-paths.md](other-paths.md)
  and follow it and the backend's workflow file to the end. That file owns the verdict, fix and
  re-review handling; of step 4, only the `OVERRIDDEN:` line ending an unattended loop applies,
  never its fix pass or re-review.
- `claude` when a Claude model wrote the change: say once that this review is same-family, then
  continue.

Shell state does not survive between Bash calls: each block below resolves `FLOWCTL` again and
takes `REVIEW_ID`, `DIFF_BASE` and `BACKEND` as literals.

**The panel, on every backend.** The first round runs one reviewer for a small diff in one area
(one module or feature, not spread across subsystems) that touches no persisted or shared state,
concurrency, security or data layout, and three otherwise, one per lens: correctness, contracts,
integration. The re-review after fixes runs one reviewer. You make the call; flowctl runs it.

## 2. CLI review

For `codex`, `claude`, `copilot` and `cursor`. Run each review command as one blocking foreground
Bash call with a 600-second timeout. Never run it in the background: its completion would not
resume you.

```bash
FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"
REVIEW_ID="<literal or empty>"; DIFF_BASE="<literal>"; BACKEND="<literal>"
ROUTE="$("$FLOWCTL" review-route ${REVIEW_ID:+"$REVIEW_ID"} --rotate-stale --json)" || { printf '%s\n' "$ROUTE" >&2; exit 1; }
ACTION="$(jq -r '.action' <<<"$ROUTE")"; TASK_ID="$(jq -r '.task_id // empty' <<<"$ROUTE")"
RECEIPT_PATH="$(jq -r '.receipt_path' <<<"$ROUTE")"
echo "TASK_ID=$TASK_ID RECEIPT_PATH=$RECEIPT_PATH"
case "$ACTION" in
  stop) jq -r '.message' <<<"$ROUTE" >&2; exit 1 ;;
  fix-then-rereview) echo "RESUMED: the receipt holds findings still to fix; go to step 4"; exit 0 ;;
esac
TRIAGE=(--receipt "$RECEIPT_PATH" --base "$DIFF_BASE" --no-llm); [ -n "$TASK_ID" ] && TRIAGE+=(--task "$TASK_ID")
if OUT=$("$FLOWCTL" triage-skip --json "${TRIAGE[@]}" 2>/dev/null); then
  echo "Triage-skip: $(jq -r '.reason // "trivial diff"' <<<"$OUT")"; echo "VERDICT=SHIP"; exit 0
fi
args=(); [ -n "$TASK_ID" ] && args+=("$TASK_ID")
args+=(--base "$DIFF_BASE" --receipt "$RECEIPT_PATH" --json)
ONE_REVIEWER=0   # 1 when the panel rule above calls for one reviewer
[ "$ONE_REVIEWER" = 1 ] && args+=(--draw correctness)
"$FLOWCTL" "$BACKEND" impl-review-fanout "${args[@]}"
```

Pass the caller's focus areas with `--focus "<areas>"`, or else the review focus the project's
instructions state, for task and branch reviews alike. Triage
passing means lockfile, docs, release or generated files only: the review is done.

## 3. Merge and finalize

The fan-out JSON lists each draw's `<axis>.review.md`, its `rid`, and the finalize command. Read
each review and write a merge plan to a file: `{"keep":["correctness:1"],"collapse":{"contracts:2":"correctness:1"}}`,
where references are `<axis>:<finding number>`. Collapse findings that describe the same defect
onto the one with the strongest evidence; leave out findings with no concrete failing scenario in
the change. Then, in the foreground:

```bash
FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"
BACKEND="<literal>"
"$FLOWCTL" "$BACKEND" impl-review-fanout-finalize --rid "<rid>" --merge-plan "<plan path>" --json
```

flowctl computes the verdict (the worst draw wins; failed draws do not vote) and writes the
receipt. Report `VERDICT=<verdict>` with the kept findings; your own reading never changes it.
Finalize before you change or commit anything: a commit moves HEAD past the reviewed head,
flowctl refuses the round, and the retry is a full fresh review instead of the scoped re-review.

## 4. Act on the verdict (every backend)

- `SHIP`: done. Report the verdict and any follow-ups.
- `MAJOR_RETHINK`: the approach is wrong. Stop with `BLOCKED: DESIGN_CONFLICT` and the
  reviewer's rationale; do not patch finding by finding.
- `NEEDS_HUMAN` (flowctl reports it as `ESCALATE: reviewer requested human review`): stop and hand
  the reviewer's question to the person. Unattended, when that question is a human call that does
  not block the rest of the work (working-rules-unattended.md), run the `NEEDS_WORK` fix pass below
  instead, declining the call itself with `Declined #<n>: open item for the person`; when that loop
  ends, print `OPEN_ITEM: <the question>` after the verdict. The caller completes the task on it and
  the pull request opens as a draft.
- `NEEDS_WORK`: on the path above, read [references/fix-pass.md](references/fix-pass.md) and run
  its one fix pass and re-review; a path through other-paths.md runs its workflow file's fix loop.

On any backend, when an unattended loop ends with the reviewer keeping only findings you declined
under working-rules.md's rule, all below Major, print `OVERRIDDEN: <n> declined findings` with
each finding and both sides' reasons after `VERDICT=NEEDS_WORK`; the caller completes the task on it.

If a review command ends without a verdict (a transport error), retry it once, unless its
`CLI message:` reports a usage, credit or spend limit: a retry fails the same way, so report that
message and stop. `ESCALATE:` (other
than the `NEEDS_HUMAN` case above), `TRANSPORT_UNHEALTHY`, `NOT_RETRYABLE:` and other refusals end this review: report the message
as printed and stop. Never widen the reviewer's sandbox, call the reviewer CLI directly, or reset
review state to get past one.